Tricycle frame structure



July 25, 1950 H. L. KRAEFT ET AL TRICYCLE FRAME STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed May 6, 1947 T. I S m wam TFN m5 4 wmmd wh /M mm ET wt WATTORNEYS y 1950 H. KRAEFT ET AL 2,516,705

TRICYCLE FRAME STRUCTURE Filed May 6, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.HERMAN L. KRAfFT V/KTOE SC/{REC/(E/VGOST ATTOE/VfYS Patented July 25,1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I 2,516,705 a l "r'RI'oYoLE FRAMEemperors;

Herman L. men and "viktor Schreck'e'ngo'st,

Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignors to The Murray-Ohio ManufacturingCompany, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Asst-miss May e, 1947,Serial No. 746,246

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a wheeled vehiele driven through apedal and "sprocket machahisni, and more particularly it relates to anovel frame for a tricycle.

object of the present invention is to provide a tricycle, or similarwheeled vehicle, in which the frame thereof is formed of parts which canbe readily assembled into a so-called boys type tricycle or into aso-called girls type tricycle.

further object of the invention is to provide a sturdy and lightweighttricycle frame which is made of relatively few, easily formed members.

pther objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of a preferred form of embodiment of theinvention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side view in elevation or one form bf 'itricycle, certainparts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side view in elevation of a second form of tricycle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the tricycle shown in Fig.1';

Fig. 4 is a top view of a part of the rear wheel assembly of thetricycle shown in Fig. 3';

I Fig. 5 is a view in section taken on line Ei-5 brFig. 4;

Fig. '6 is "a fragmentary view in section taken name 6-45 of Fig. 5, buton a larger scale;

Fig. 7 is a view taken substantially along line Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryview, partly broken away, of another form of rear wheel assembly, whichis somewhat similar to that shown in "4'; and,

Fig. 9 is a view taken along line 9- 9 of Fig.2.

, il t-houg h it is to be understood that the invenft ioh could beembodied in other types of vehicles than tricycles, for the purposes ofillustrating the invention I have shown a girls type tricycle IE inFigs. 1 and 3. A boys type tricycle is shown "at I'G in Fig. 2, and thedifierence between these two vehicles is that in the former type thereach bar fl'l extend rearwardly and downwardly from the front of thevehicle while in the latter type the reach bar ll extends rearward-1yand sub- *stamrany horizontal to the ground.

Referring now to the tricycle "indicated genera-11y at 1-5, thistricycle comprises ama-in frame jnember 2B which preferably consists ofa tube having a straight section indicated at n and a sem circularsection indicated at 2|. One end "of the straight section I! is attachedto the "vertical "post of the front wheel assembly 2-2. The method orattachment not material "to my in- 2 vention, and for example, it may bebrazed to the assembly. The front wheel assembly includes handle bars 23and a front wheel 24 supported by a fork member 25 which may be turnedby the handle bars 23.

A rear wheel assembly 2? is attached to the rear part or the framemember 26 at the semicircular section of the frame. The rear wheelassembly consists of an inverted U -shaped yoke 28, which is preferablyformed or 'a tube, and tlre central part of the tube is crushed to forma relatively extensive contact surface with the frame member 20, as maybe seen at 28 in Fig. 9. Pre- 'fera-bly, the tube 28 is attached to theframe section 2] by brazing. A plate 32, which may be formed of a metalstamping is attached to the lower ends of the legs of the yoke 28,, theconnec'tion being made by the formation of cylindrical openings 33through the plate, which-openings receive the ends of the legs'oftheyoke and to the walls of which openings the legs arebrazed. Thecentral portion of the .plate 32 is raised as at 34 and a groove-likedepression 36 is formed in the forward portion of the raised part 3i andthe bottom surface of the depression 36is arcuate longitudinally so thatthe semi-circular section 2| of frame 20 will rest in and be supportedby the walls forming the depression :35. Preferably, the frame 20 isbrazed to the walls of the depression 36 so that a sturdy and rigidconnection is formed between the frame and the rear wheel assembly.

The plate 32 is adapted to support the rear axle 3'8, and for thispurpose bearings 39 and it are attached in the down turned ends of theplate 32.

sides of the axle as indicatedat and bolts 48 extend through therespective slots and the-plate 4|. By tightening nuts 41 on the boltsthe bearing 39 can be adjustablypositioned rearwardly or forwardly onthe plate 32. The bearing 40 is similar to the bearing 39, the onlydifference'being that sleeve 43 is omitted. The position of the bearing40 relative to the plate 32 may be ad- :justed. in the same manner asdescribed with reference to the bearing 39. A bearing hanger plate 50 isattached to'the wall of the raisedportion -34 and the hanger plate isprovided with an offset T5| through which the axle 38 mayextend, and onopposite sides of the offsetslots 52aa-re of the straight section, arear wheel assembly attached to the semi-circular section of the tubularmember for supporting the frame 'with the semicircular section in avertical plane, said rear wheel assembly comprising, an invertedU-shaped tubular member extending transversely of the plane of saidsemi-circular section in a continuous manner and tangentially attachedto said section, a rigid sheet metal plate interconnecting the 1c werends of the U -shaped member, top portion of said plate being attachedto a portion of the lower part of the semi-circular section of saidframe member, said plate being adapted to support an adjustable chaindriven axle and having a sprocket opening in the top thereof adjacentthe vertical plane of the tubular frame member whereby a sprocket on theaxle may extend upwardly through the opening.

HERMAN L. KRAEFT. VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

